Obesity : The Obesity Epidemic

An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese (Klein 2000). “"Affecting one in five Americans – or more than 22 percent of the U.S. population – obesity is one of the most pervasive health problems in our nation right now," said George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of surgery and associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "We need to implement steps to slow the progression of this national epidemic” (NAASO 1999). But the problem of obesity does not only affect the United States. "We now know that the growing prevalence of obesity is creating major health problems worldwide," said Dr. James O. Hill, president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Obesity was once regarded as unique to Americans, but it is now seen as a global health risk affecting developing and underdeveloped countries (AOA 2000). Obesity is increasing at an epidemic rate in the United States - 1.3% a year for women over 20. Rates of obesity among minority populations, including African-Americans and Hispanic Americans are especially high (AOA 2000). There is also a marked increase in obesity among children.

Since the 1980’s obesity rates have soared. Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled between adults and children. Twelve years later in 2012, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention estimated more than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Being overweight is defined as having excess body weight from a combination of height, fat, and muscle. On the other hand, Obesity is simply having too much excess body fat. Being overweight and obese are the result of caloric imbalance. Society tends to consume more calories than calories expended. Obesity can lead to more serious medical issues such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even cancer. I believe that there are many causes of obesity, but there are just as much solutions for a healthier life.

As many Americans know, there is currently an obesity epidemic that is sweeping the nation. With more food advertisements, bigger portion sizes, and Americans eating more calories than ever before; Linder makes his viewpoint very clear on how this is negatively affecting our nation. In his article “Fat of the Land”, Linder looks at all of the possible leading factors on who is to blame on the current situation in resulting of more than 60% of adults in America being overweight. The main contributing people to blame for the obesity epidemic is of course, the fast food industry. Linder’s main argument starts with his comparison of American’s calorie intake in the 1950’s, than comparing it to today. With stating the other side’s viewpoint on while advertisements and marketing are always surrounding the world around us; it is not forcing us to do anything. With his basic statement claiming that people will be people and at the end of the day, it’s their decision if they want to eat that 1,000 calorie filled Big Mac from McDonalds. Linder does a substantial job at informing the reader about the many dangers causing obesity, while also persuading them by giving tips to lead a well-balanced, healthier lifestyle.

For a long time, obesity has been one of the notable health concerns that America has struggled with during the last five decades .Obesity as a health concern is not limited to America alone, it is a serious concern among other affluent societies like European countries. A considerable number of Americans spend a significant amount of money trying to lose weight. Obesity become an important focus in the news items during the year 2002.According to research findings, the rate of obesity among the American was at an average of 12% in 1990 and this rate was at 23% in the year 2005(Menifield, Doty and Fletcher 83-8).

The last decade has welcomed, with open arms, a new epidemic: obesity. Currently in the United States, more than one-third of adults, 35.7%, and approximately 17% of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is not only a problem in the US but also worldwide with its prevalence doubling in high income and economically advanced countries and is also growing in under-developed areas. Its incidence rate is continually increasing with each successive generation and in each age group, including the elderly (Byles, 2009; Dorner and Rieder, 2011).

Fed up is a documentary that investigates the recent obesity epidemic; the obesity epidemic is considered “recent” because there has been a steady rise in obese and overweight Americans since the 1980s. This film formulates its analysis of United States’ obesity epidemic by denouncing US politics and the food industry for their immensely adverse influence on America’s overall health. Moreover, there was also an emphasis on the science of obesity and childhood obesity.

There are a variety of public issues in the United States society today. Many people are facing some type of illness or disease, one we do not consider a major problem until just recently. Obesity is a disease/condition that many people in America are suffering from. Really obesity can be defined in many different ways; Mayo Clinic defines obesity as a “complex disorder involving an excessive amount of body fat” (Obesity, 2015). When a person is diagnosed having this disease/condition it can cause many health problems such as, diabetes, heart trouble, high and low blood pressure. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S adults are obese. (“Adult Obesity Facts,” 2015).

Obesity remains an extremely serious problem worldwide. Once considered a problem for wealthier counties, overweight and obesity are now rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries (WHO, 2011). In American, the rates of obesity continues to rise. NIH (2012) recognizes obesity as a risk factor for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other health problems. According IFT over two-thirds of the US are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese (Fast food restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American obesity 2012). IFT.org (2012) in September it was predicated that 75% of Americans would be overweight in 2020. The problem is thought to cause Americans $150-170 billion in annual medical costs. Many people argue that the

The film Fed Up is an American made documentary that examines the obesity epidemic, as well as, the food industry in an effort to uproot the underlining causes of exponential growth rates of obesity in America. The main objective behind the documentary is to educate and expose the current threat of obesity and the associated health complications in an attempt to motivate viewers to reevaluate and alter their current food choices. Fed Up utilizes data gathered through various professional interviews conducted with medical and food industry personnel to propose and support various claims. The film also includes personal stories provided by various children who are confused about and struggle with their obesity as an effective way to establish

The startling epidemic of rising obesity rates has caught everyone off guard considering that in the book “Obesity Dietary and Developmental Influences” it states that almost two-thirds of the current population is overweight or obese (Lopez 2). Considering that many adults and children are struggling with their weight, many experts try to pinpoint the exact culprit for the obesity rates and ways it can be diminished. The focus of this paper is to discuss who exactly is to blame for the rising obesity rates and different ways it could decrease based on certain author’s point of views. This is important because if the rates do not stop increasing, people will suffer whether its financially or medically. Many people often argue over which

Fed Up is a documentary about the obesity epidemic. Specifically, the government and big food companies role in it. The beginning of the film informs viewers of how they can make healthier food choices -That lots what we think we know about healthy eating isn't necessarily true. Then the focus shifts, and begins to criticize the lack of action taken by food companies. Regarding the issue, big food companies are hypocritical and have self-serving interests. They attempt to keep up sales by teaming up with their critics, deceiving the public, and raising other issues to avoid the ones at hand. In other words, propaganda. Big food companies use the propagandistic device card stacking to deceive and manipulate consumers.

The Walt Disney production “Wall-E” is a portrayed image of what our world could soon become. If you aren’t familiar with what the film is about, it is about obese humans relying on technology to do everything and anything for them. They weren’t concerned with their health at all, ordering jumbo soda and super-sized meals of fast food, for every meal. As Wall-E broads the ship and knocks some humans out of their delusional life style, they begin to realize something is seriously wrong with their health. Maybe it was because they couldn’t walk or maybe it was the realization that they couldn’t do anything for themselves. To make sure this doesn’t happen to the people of our world today, there is

Obesity is becoming an epidemic all around the nation and is now officially considered a disease. The purpose of this study is to prove that obesity is a preventable factor among Americans and obesity should be considered the cause to a vast amount of different diseases, but not a disease by itself. This topic is significantly vital to the American society because obesity can decrease life expectancy and increase the number of deaths rates that occur in the United States.

Obesity is a very serious threat to the health of Americans and people all across the world. A plethora of studies have been done to confirm the adverse effects of obesity on an individual 's health. Obesity rates have been skyrocketing in the past 30 years. The year 2000 marked the first time in human history that the percentage of obesity in the human population rose over 50% (Obesity: A Cultural and Biocultural Perspective). Obesity, as well as childhood obesity, is more prevalent than ever. There has been little done by the American people and the U.S. government to reverse this trend. My research has shown that the problem of obesity is a much larger problem than most people believe it to be. Many Americans underestimate the

The Obesity Epidemic is a topic widely studied and mentioned in several contexts’ both medical and social. Obesity is described by Boero (2012) to have exploded in meaning Post- World War II to be more than a “physical flaw.” Weight concern became an idea that debuted in magazines mainly targeting women and emphasizing “natural thinness.” The disappearance of the normally worn “corset” and popularization of the typical 1920’s “boy catching” flapper, increased the production of diet products and the ideology of “desirable thinness” which gave birth to a social and moral model of obesity as a disease (Boero 2012). Throughout her book, Boero (2012) examines the ways in which the view of obesity has transformed into a medicalized epidemic, rather than a simple “flaw in human biology” in addition to the implications that come along with the “epidemic” title it has been given. Although there is a relationship between poor health and fatness, the Obesity epidemic would fail to exist in the absence of societies constant fat shaming, medicalization of fatness and an emphasis on individual blame. The Mayo Clinic’s “My Weight Solution” pamphlet and “The HAES Manifesto” each approach health and weight from a different angle. The Mayo Clinic’s pamphlet takes the Anti-Obesity Approach giving reasons as to why people should have a negative outlook on Obesity while also blaming a handful of obesity-related issues on the bad habits of an individual person. The HAES Manifesto adopts a more